Income Boost Seen as Major Library Need

Editor's Note: The Plan for a Better Wilmette will go to a referendum on February 14. As a public service, Wilmette Life is presenting a series of articles on every phase of the Plan, in an effort fully to inform the citizens before they go to the polls. Wilmette Life also welcomes contributions to the Public Forum department on the subject of the Plan. The following story, which deals with the proposal for a new public library, was written by members of the library board and staff.

One of the important issues before the voters of Wilmette February 14, is the question of an increase in the tax rate for the Wilmette Public Library. This will be presented along with the proposition of a bond issue for a new library building.
The library is still operating under the original tax rate of 6/10 of one mill under which the library was established in 1901. Because this rate, fixed by state law, no longer provided sufficient income for libraries, the state legislature in 1941 increased the maximum tax rate to one mill or .10 percent. Many libraries in Illinois held referendums to secure the new rate. Wilmette did not, because, until two years ago, our library had sufficient funds to operate under the old rate.

Financial Crisis
Two factors, however, have brought on a financial crisis for the library. One is rising prices, increased staff salaries to meet cost of living increases, hegher prices of books and a general increase in operational costs. Because of the age of the building, repairs have been heavy during the last two years and even now, the library is faced with a major plastering job. Increased use of the library has brought a need for more supplies and more staff.
The second factor is the Walker-Butler acts passed by the 1945 session of the legislature which in seeking to equalize and stabilize assessed valuation of property throughout the state, had the effect, in some communities such as Wilmette, of reducing the income of tax-supported municipal units. Due to these acts, the schools of Wilmette were forced to seek an increase in tax rate two years ago. The library, subject tot he same acts, was able to defer such action until now because it had a small reserve fund with which to make up the deficit. That reserve fund will be completely exhausted by the end of this year.

Would Cut Services
So serious is the financial situation that library officials believe the voters should be fully aware of the alternatives if help is not forthcoming. Under present income, the library cannot operate next year without reducing its staff, curtailing book purchases drastically, and cutting down on hours of opening.
Library officials point out that the library expects to use only such portion of the increase as is necessary to enable the library to continue to operate as it has in the past. In terms of dollars and cents, the library is now spending $1,53 of tax money per capita per year for library service in Wilmette. Next year's budget calls for an expenditure of $1.80 per capita per year, an increase of 27 cents per person per year.

Captions
To accomodate books: This room was formerly a study room. Stacks were added a year and a half ago when provision had to be made for the 5,000 books in storage in the old Gross Point School. Study space was sacrificed to make foom for these stacks. Although the children's room (photo at right) in the basement of the library is less crowded than the adult department, congestion is beginning to show here. Some of the wall shelves are too high for the children to reach and stacks are taking up more and more of the floor space. A large picture file belonging to the adult department is housed in the childrne's room because no space was available upstairs.

Everything Has Grown But the Building
1904................................1947
3,000........Population.....17,226
2,300........Books.............27,586
614...........Borrowers.......8,000
11,869......Books loaned per year...130,343